Stephen Colbert's Super PAC Raises $1 Million

While Republicans duke it out in the Florida primary today, funnyman Stephen Colbert continues to mock the political process entirely with his Super PAC, which announced today that it had raised $1 million. The Super PAC (that's "Political Action Campaign" to you, sir), also known as the Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, is Colbert's way of highlighting the absurdity of campaign finance rules.

Under those laws and the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, any political action campaign is allowed to raise unlimited funds from corporations and unions and to funnel that money into political ads. The Super PAC raised its $1 million through donations that Colbert solicited on his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report. The donations came from a wide range of people, including Gavin Newsom, the liutenant governor of California, and Bradley Whitford of The West Wing.

In accordance with its mission, Super PAC has actually funded and produced several campaign ads, including this one urging people to vote for Herman Cain and an over-the-top anti-Romney spot. Colbert has also joked extensively about using the money to fly on private jets and perhaps to buy an elephant.

One million dollars might seem like an awful lot of cash, and indeed, it represents a milestone for the comedian's well-oiled satirical machine. However, a lousy million is a mere fraction of the money that actual presidential candidates have raised (and subsequently spent) on the race so far.